Appreciation for Sumedha Sadhana

My experience in Sumedha Centre, in the Kumaon foot hills of Himalayas, close to Nainital was a special one. We were 18 participants; 5 Priests, 2 brothers and 11 sisters. Except for one sister from Thailand and myself, all were Indians. For two months we live together following the same rhythm of life. Men and women, middle aged and old, all worked, studied, prayed, danced and made fun together.

We participated in beautiful liturgies and rituals. Carefully selected films, books, songs etc were in abundance. We opened up to one another and shared what we were living at a deeper level. Together we discovered that we are all vulnerable, that we are all gifted and that we are all capable of living our lives fully. No one had any reason to be proud or ashamed of. After all, we are all human beings. In the process many of us experienced “healing miracles”, thanks to the expertise of the director who led us carefully through the process, valuable contribution of the resource persons and the understanding collaboration of our companions.

Throughout this experience I never remembered, I was a foreigner. I believed what I learned in school. My ancestors came from India and we have a blood relationship with the Indians. This is apart from being members of the same large human family. My Sri Lankan identity is still very important to me; but it is not a preoccupation anymore.

I will thank God for the rest of my life, for this precious experience I had in this beautiful land.

Thanks to all those who contributed to make this stay enjoyable, meaningful and fruitful. I would like to end this little article with a quotation from “The gentle art of Blessings” by Pierre Pradervand:

“If you ever, even for a few days, had the opportunity to live with others in an atmosphere devoid of all criticism and judgment, where you were accepted unconditionally just as you are, with your strengths and weaknesses, you are aware of what an extraordinary experience it is. Creativity, joy and spontaneity burst forth, hearts open, trust and self confidence blossom.”(pg. 97)

Before the experience of Sumedha Sadhana I would have said this is not possible. But today I would say, what I experienced is such more than this.

Sr. Winifreda WASALATHANTHRIGE

Sri Lanka

60-DAY SADHANA IN THE KUMAON HILLS

A sixty-day Psycho-Spiritual Wholeness Journey entitled Sumedha Sadhana concluded today at Sumedha Centre for Psychology and Spirituality, Jeolikote, in the Kumaon Hills of Uttarakhand.

Sumedha, a venture of the Salesian Province of New Delhi, is a centre for renewal of body, mind and spirit through the integration of insights and practices from psychology and spiritual traditions. The sixty-day Sumedha Sadhana is the flag-ship programme of the centre. It is offered three times a year.

The last of the Sumedha Sadhana for the year commenced on October 1 and brought together religious and priests from various parts of the country and abroad. There were 18 participants in all – eleven religious sisters, two religious brothers (including a Salesian from Mumabi Province) and five priests (three religious and two diocesan.)

The major module, lasting three weeks, was Psychological Dynamics on the Spiritual Journey, and was facilitated by Dr. Jose Parappully SDB, PhD, the Director of the Centre.

This module helped participants to journey back into their childhood to discover the experiences that helped to fashion their sense of self, and journey into the future to discern how they wanted to live out the rest of their lives. In this backward and forward journey they explored the various dynamics related to issues of identity, intimacy, generativity and integrity.

Dr. Ajoy Fernandes SDB, PhD helped the participants discover their psychological types, their persona and shadow and integrate them for a healthier sense of self during the module Jungian Perspectives on Self Awareness.

Dr. Rosamma John ICM, PhD helped participants explore Women’s and Feminist Spiritualities.

Dr. MC Abraham CSC, PhD and Dr. Jose Parappully led the participants through the healing and transformative experience of group therapy. Five days of silent spiritual retreat directed by Dr. Jose Parappully helped participants to integrate the experiences of the two months and concluded the programme.

As they looked back at their two-month experience at Sumedha all the participants expressed great satisfaction regarding the quality of the programme. Some said it was the best they had attended. One common comment was “I received so much more than I expected.” Another was, we go back “refreshed,” “renewed,” “reenergised.”

Nazareth sister Cecily remarked. “I made a deep journey into my past, my present and my future. There was a lot of time to introspect. The beautiful surroundings really helped. I got every thing I wanted. I go back recharged and re-energized. Sumedha was such a blessing. Very satisfied with everything.”

“What Sumedha did was to help me reinvent myself. I came here disappointed, disillusioned, and disordered,” disclosed Joy, a diocesan priest from Orissa. “Sumedha helped me take control of my life.”

Mike, another diocesan priest, said: “The best experience I’ve ever had. Every thing was a new experience. I received so much more than I expected. It has a given a new direction to my life.”

“I came here broken, finding my life so meaningless,” shared Teresa, a missionary nun form the North East. I am going back with hope.”

For Tesia, a hospital worker, Sumedha was “a profound God experience. I came here confused, troubled, searching for something. And I found what it was. I go back energised, confident.”

All this happened because “every aspect of the programme was carefully selected, beautifully blended, integrated in a meaningful sequence, and effectively communicated. I got exactly what I needed. I thought the programme was organised with just me in mind. I profited from every bit of it,” observed Winie, a Holy Family nun from Sri Lanka.

Supha, a Sacred Heart nun from Thailand, remarked, “I could be like a child here. There was so much freedom.”

“I liked the atmosphere of freedom given here. I felt I was being treated like a responsible adult whether in my personal routine or community. I found the food and other services very good,” said Theo, a missionary priest - a sentiment echoed by other participants as well.

Next Sumedha Sadhana dates: Feb 25-April 25; May 20- June 30; Oct 01-Nov 29, 2011. Registration is open.

JUNGIAN PERSPECTIVES ON SELF AWARENESS

An Important module of the ongoing Sumedha Sadhana programme is entitled Jungian Perspectives on Self-Awareness. It was held from 18 to 23 October and was facilitated by Dr. Ajoy Fernandes, PhD, a Salesian priest from Mumbai.

Dr. Fernandes first helped the participants to identify their Jungian Type using the Myers Briggs Type Inventory. He then focused on the Dominant and Inferior Functions and their impact on one’s spirituality. The exploration of dominant and inferior functions also served as introduction to the Persona and the Shadow. Participants were helped to identify their persona and shadow through fantasy and guided imagery exercises. He then moved on to an examination of the Animus and the Anima” and provided insights and strategies for their integration using two films, Spiderman II and Earthsea.

A final integration of the week’s explorations and experiences were accomplished through creation of Mandalas. Participants offered these Mandalas at the concluding Eucharist, integrating psychological exploration and spiritual practice.

Participants found this module immensely useful for growing in self-awareness and expressed great satisfaction with the way the module was handled. On a scaled of 1 to 10, one representing “Very Little Useful” and 10 “Immensely Useful,” nine of the 18 participants gave a perfect 10 on the scale to represent their assessment of the Degree of Usefulness of this module. Two participants gave a score of 9 and seven a score of 8. Two participant comments from several that illustrate satisfaction:

“The process helped me to go step by step in the journey of self-discovery till I got in touch with the real issue that bothered me for months…. Expressive art and imaginary exercises were very helpful to me, especially art.” Sr. Winie.

“I had done this workshop earlier about 10 years ago. But the way Ajoy did it was different. He had a unique style which I found useful. It was not a lecture but a non-threatening self-discovery in my own inner journey. Fr. Philip

News from Sumedha

We began the last programme for 2010 - Sumedha Sadhana - on October 1. It goes up to November 29. We have 18 participants (11 women religious, five priests and two religious brothers.). It's houseful!! We also had houseful for the June-August Sadhana.

We were anxious whether the participants would be able to reach Sumedha Sadhana as the road between Jeolikote and Kathgodam had been closed to traffic because of landslides. However all the participants turned up on time. They had to go all the way to Nainital via Bhimtal and then come down to Jeolikote! No one complained!!

Some sad news. Br John's father passed away on Oct 14. He was seventy five. We got the news that night at 9.30. The funeral was to be the next day. John didn't go as he would not be able to reach home for funeral. He will be going home in December. He lost his young sister (during child birth) on October 21st last year. So two big losses for him. Please remember him in your prayers.

Last month we had torrential rains for several days. On18th the rains continued non-stop and they caused lots of damage. Roads in several parts of the State were washed away and landslides killed several people. Part of the road in front of Sumedha Centre (near the BSNL tower) was washed away. It has been repaired. A long stretch of the road between Jeolikote and Kathgodam was washed away and the traffic on that road was suspended for some weeks. The road has just been opened (on the 15th), because of Dussera. The condition of the road is still bad. Authorities might still close it. Marketing has become very difficult and time consuming. We have to go to Nainital, come down via Bhowali and Bhimtal (3 hours to go and 3 to come!). Please pray the conditions of the roads improve. The road to Almora is still cut off.

Winter is slowly setting in. The evening are beginning to be chilly, but the days are glorious with brilliant sunshine and blue skies.

Our 2011 Schedule is given in the previous blog.

Blessings!

Sumedha Centre 2011 programmes

2011 Programmes

1. Sumedha Sadhana (A Psychospiritual Wholeness Journey) – (60 days).

February 25 – April 25

2. Sumedha Sadhana (A Psychospiritual Wholeness Journey) – (42 days)

May 20-June 30

3. Midlife Dynamics & the Spiritual Journey- (15 days).

July 17 – 31

4. Midlife Dynamics & the Spiritual Journey- (15 days).

August 17 – 31.

5. Sumedha Sadhana (A Psychospiritual Wholeness Journey) – (60 days).

October 01 – November 29, 2010.

Sumedha Sadhana

Course Description: This is an inner journey in quest of greater healing and wholeness. Participants begin from where they are, looking at what is happening on their spiritual journey. They then move on to explore the psychological dynamics that affect their spirituality and integrate them in healthy ways to create more satisfying and more productive life patterns.

Course Content: Holistic, Process & Formative Spiritualities; Cosmic, Creation & Feminist Spiritualities; Religious & Community Life; Prayerfulness & Healthy Emotional Life; Midlife Dynamics & the Spiritual Journey; Identity & Vocational Commitment; Intimacy, Celibacy & Sexuality; Generativity, Stress & Burnout; Shadows & Subpersonalities; Trauma, Healing & Reconciliation; The Universe story, Jesus Story and Our Story -- are some of the major topics that will be explored. Special place is given to group therapy where participants have the opportunity to face their brokenness and fears, their unhelpful patterns of living and relating and move on to healing and wholeness. The programme concludes with a directed retreat.

Tools & Techniques: Insights from Christian faith and wisdom traditions, various psychological theories of development, as well as experiential tools and techniques from Psychosynthesis, Intensive Journal, Expressive Arts, multi-media, prayer & meditation practices, and Sacred Scripture are used to explore and enhance one’s psychospiritual journey. (Age limit: 30-62 years)

Midlife Dynamics & The Spiritual Journey

During midlife the meaning question looms large on our psychic horizon: What does it all mean, anyway? The quest for meaning leads to an inward journey through which we seek to embrace our self at new levels of awareness. We make a journey into the past to reconcile unresolved issues. We turn our eyes to the future, to consider how we want to live out the rest of our lives. Midlife is a time when we question our “dream”—who we wanted to be, what we wanted to accomplish. It is a time when we question our commitments and consider their impact on our past, present and future. Sexuality, which has often been repressed, rears its head and makes itself felt, often in troubling ways. Longing for a close relationship is awakened or intensifies. Our body experiences drastic hormonal changes. Emotional awareness of one’s own mortality presents life in new perspectives. These dynamics of midlife have a profound impact on our self-concept and our spiritual journey

Course Content: At this workshop we shall explore these psychological dynamics so as to deepen and enrich our spiritual journey. We will particularly explore four midlife issues identity (who we are), intimacy (the role of affectivity and sexuality in our lives) generativity (how we work and nurture future generations), and integrity (how we make sense of the whole of our life). We will explore spirituality, religious life, physical and emotional well-being, sexuality and celibacy, our hurts and our shadows in the context of shifting midlife perspectives and experiences.

Tools and Techniques: In this endeavour we will use the insights from various psychological theories of development, and from the medical sciences. Our inner process at this workshop will be enhanced by the exploratory and healing techniques of the Intensive Journal, Psychosynthesis, and Expressive Arts and the power of meditation and prayer. (Participant Age Limit: 30-62)

For further information and application form, please contact:

Sumedha Centre. Jeolikote. P. O. Nainital Dist. Uttarkhand 263127

Ph.05942-224328. mob.+91-9410941799

email: sumedhacentre@gmail.com

2011 Sumedha Centre Programmes

2011 Programmes

1. Sumedha Sadhana (A Psychospiritual Wholeness Journey) – (60 days).

February 25 – April 25

2. Sumedha Sadhana (A Psychospiritual Wholeness Journey) – (42 days)

May 20-June 30

3. Midlife Dynamics & the Spiritual Journey- (15 days).

July 17 – 31

4. Midlife Dynamics & the Spiritual Journey- (15 days).

August 17 – 31.

5. Sumedha Sadhana (A Psychospiritual Wholeness Journey) – (60 days).

October 01 – November 29, 2010.